​northernettes​Q&A

Who are the Northernettes? Based out of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, the Northernettes organization was founded in 2017 to create a high level, competitive synchronized skating program in the Upper Midwest. While developing this exciting opportunity for accomplished skaters, our ultimate goal is to build competitive synchronized skating teams committed to success on the National and International level.

Why Synchronized Skating? Synchronized skating is an incredible team sport that teaches young athletes about teamwork, commitment, and hard work on and off the ice. Skating on a higher level team is competitive and challenging, and our athletes are all very accomplished skaters, with a passion for the sport and a dedication to their team. We are building this organization to become highly competitive and elite, with the ultimate objective for our Junior team is to become part of Team USA and represent the country in International competitions around the world. We are developing our Juvenile and Novice team skaters to become strong synchronized skaters and confident, committed athletes as they move up through the team levels. Equally important, is our objective to help develop core personal attributes for all of our athletes that will serve as their foundation as they progress through the sport.

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​Is synchronized skating experience required to be part of the Northernettes? No!We welcome skaters from singles, pairs and dance disciplines, too. Successful synchronized skaters come from all figure skating backgrounds.

Do I have to give up my private coaches or individual skating? Definitely not! We encourage our athletes to continue in other disciplines of skating and to continue pursuing higher test levels. Many of our athletes continue to compete individually.

Where do Northernettes skaters come from? Our skaters come from all over the greater Twin Cities area and beyond!

What are Workshops? Our Workshops are meant to introduce skaters to the Northernettes organization and to be an upbeat and challenging experience with synchronized skating instruction from our coaching staff. Skaters will participate in both individual and team skills. At each workshop groups are split up by minimum Moves in the Field tests passed.

Where do the Northernettes teams practice? We practice at several rinks in the Twin Cities area including (but not limited to) Breck Anderson Ice Arena, Ridder Ice Arena (at the University of Minnesota) and Bloomington Ice Garden.

When do our teams practice?Weekly practice times for Junior:The Northernettes Junior Team practices 8-9 hours per week on ice, over 3 weekly practice sessions (most practices preceded by 30 minutes of off ice practice). They have 1 practice during the week and 2 practices on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Additional off ice training is implemented during the summer and fall months.

Weekly practice times for Novice:The Northernettes Novice Team practices 5-6 hours per week on ice, over 2-3 weekly practice sessions (most practices preceded by 30 minutes of off ice practice). They have 1 practice during the week and 1 practices on the weekend (Saturday or Sunday). Additional off ice training is implemented during the summer and fall months.

Weekly practice times for Intermediate:The Northernettes Junior Team practices 2-3 hours per week on ice, over 2 weekly practice sessions They have 1 practice during the week and 1 practice on the weekend (Saturday or Sunday).